Credit Card Reviews 2013 (13): Priority Club Rewards Black Visa

This is the 13th of my series of articles looking at the major UK loyalty credit cards and discussing whether of not they are worth applying for.  These articles will be linked to the relevant sections of the ‘Credit Card Offers‘ page.  My other UK airline and hotel credit card reviews can be found here.

About the card

The Priority Club Rewards Black Visa card is issued by Barclaycard and earns points in IHG Rewards Club.   IHG Rewards Club is the loyalty scheme for Holiday Inn, HI Express, Crowne Plaza, InterContinental, Indigo, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites.

Barclaycard also runs the Hilton HHonors card, as well as their own card brands.  Holding any other card from Barclays may impact your ability to get this card.

There are two versions of this card.  I reviewed the free card, which is poor, yesterday.  This card is a far more interesting proposition.

What is the sign-up bonus?

20,000 Priority Club points, when you make your first purchase.  This is worth 4,000 Avios or other airline miles if converted directly.

However, you can do better than this!   This offer here is being advertised in hotel receptions and offers 30,000 points. This link brings up a 40,000 points offer.  It was still working as of February 2014.

20,000 points is enough for a free night in a provincial city, although most big city properties will be 25,000+.  However, IHG Rewards Club runs regular PointBreaks promotions where rooms are reduced to 5,000 points per night.

Even at the 40,000 point level, the bonus remains weaker than the Hilton card, where the sign-up bonus gets you a free night ANYWHERE, even the most expensive Conrad or Waldorf-Astoria property.  The Hilton card is also free, whereas Priority Club Black carries a £99 fee.

Any other benefits?

Priority Club Black gives you a voucher for a free night at any IHG Rewards Club property when you reach £10,000 of spending per card year.

This is a very impressive benefit.  Use your voucher at an InterContinental in London, Paris or New York and you will be getting a £250+ room.  However, you need to offset the value of this against the £99 card fee.

The points from the sign-up bonus – and indeed all of your on-going points from using the card – count towards Priority Club status.

You will receive IHG Rewards Club Platinum status for as long as you hold the card.  This is NOT a publicised benefit, though.   There are no guaranteed benefits (no free breakfast, no room upgrade) but some hotels do give holders decent recognition, including upgrades and late check-out.  You also receive a 50% points bonus on your stays.

What is the annual fee?

There is a £99 annual fee.

What do I earn per £1 spent on the card?

The earnings rate on the card is 2 poinst per £1 for general spending and 4 points per £1 for spending in IHG Rewards Club properties.  You also receive 4 points per £1 on foreign currency spend.

What is an IHG Rewards Club point worth?

Whilst this is always hypothetical, I tend to work on the basis on a top-category hotel costing £250 – what you would pay in New York, Paris or London inc tax.  On that basis, an IHG Rewards Club point is worth about 0.5p based on a 50,000 point redemption for a room in an InterContinental in a major city.

IHG Rewards Club changed their pricing structure this year, increasing the cost of the 2-, 3- and 4-star chains (HI Express, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza) in big cities.  These redemptions are now poor value compared with spending 50,000 points on an 5-star InterContinental, and has reduced the value you can get from your points.

On this basis, 2 points per £1 is equivalent to a 1% rebate on your spend.  This is OK.

The 4 points per £1 on foreign spend is equivalent to 2% cashback, and is a very good deal.  I have this card, and I have been trying to put £10,000 of foreign spend through it to trigger the free night voucher.  I do not put domestic spending on the card.

Done this way, £10,000 of foreign currency spending gets you the free night voucher plus 40,000 points for your spend.  This is (almost) enough for 2 nights at an InterContinental, which is a decent short break.

How does this compare to a cashback credit card?

There are currently no cashback cards on the market which offer a) a MasterCard or Visa, b) no annual fee and c) unlimited cashback.  The best ‘pseudo cashback’ card is probably the House of Fraser MasterCard, which offers 1% of your spend in House of Fraser gift vouchers.

For an average spender, the card offers acceptable value, although you are paying an annual fee.  For foreign spend, the Priority Club Black Visa is a good deal.

Other points to note

American Express Membership Rewards stopped being an IHG Rewards Club partner last year.  This means that, if you need to top-off your IHG Rewards Club account to get to a suitable level for a redemption, the credit card may offer an easy way to get the points you need.

The Head for Points verdict:

Score for the sign-up bonus – 8/10.  This assumes you use the 40,000 points link I show you above.

Score for on-going earning – 8/10.  This assumes that you put a lot of foreign spend through the card and manage to trigger the free night voucher.  For someone who was just planning to spend less than £10,000 per year (and so missed the voucher), I would rate it at 5/10.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 2021 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our November 2021 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus. 

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the top current deals:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers.

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits Read our full review

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending:

Barclaycard Select Cashback Credit Card

1% cashback and no annual fee Read our full review